Are AAMA and GAMA Levels in Urine after Childbirth a Suitable Marker to Assess Exposure to Acrylamide from Passive Smoking during Pregnancy?—A Pilot Study

Abstract

Introduction: Acrylamide (AA) is a “probably carcinogenic to humans” monomer that can form in heated starchy food and in tobacco smoke. N-Acetyl-S-(2-carbamoylethyl)-L-cysteine (AAMA) and N-Acetyl-S-(2-carbamoyl-2-hydroxyethyl)-L-cysteine (GAMA), acrylamide metabolites in urine, are recognized as good markers of exposure to acrylamide. Aim: The aim of the study is a preliminary assessment whether the levels of AAMA and GAMA in urine after childbirth are good markers of acrylamide exposure due to passive smoking during pregnancy. Material and method: The study group consisted 67 non-smokers and 10 passive-smoker women during pregnancy. AAMA and GAMA levels in urine samples were determined using liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Results: The median AAMA levels in urine of non-smoking and passively smoking women were 30.7 μg/g creatinine and 25.2 μg/g creatinine, respectively. Much lower values were determined for GAMA: 11.4 μg/g creatinine and 10.3 μg/g creatinine, respectively. There is no significant difference between AAMA and GAMA content in urine samples between both groups of women as well as in the anthropometric parameters of newborns between those two groups of mothers. Conclusion: Our pilot study did not confirm that postpartum AAMA and GAMA concentrations in urine are good markers of exposure to acrylamide from passive smoking during pregnancy. It is probably due to the different ways of acrylamide absorption from tobacco smoke by active and passive smokers. Exposure of pregnant women to acrylamide from passive smoking requires further research.

Health Risk Assessment of Exposure to 15 Essential and Toxic Elements in Spanish Women of Reproductive Age: A Case Study

“…Although urinary biomonitoring guidance values, such as biomonitoring equivalents (BEs), have been defined in the literature for certain elements [ 46 , 47 , 48 ], food intake guidance values were only available for others. In these cases, reverse dosimetry was used to estimate the daily intake of the element based on its urinary concentration through the following equations (Equations (1) and (2)) [ 49 , 50 ]: …”

Dietary Acrylamide: A Detailed Review on Formation, Detection, Mitigation, and Its Health Impacts

“…Dietary acrylamide significantly influences the prenatal and postnatal development of infants. Pregnant women consuming acrylamide may directly affect offspring, as acrylamide and its metabolite glycidamide can pass through placental barriers, targeting and disrupting fetal tissues or organs during gestation [75]. They are water-soluble components and thus can target and disrupt the fetal tissues or organs during the gestation period.…”